A Learning Process
by geocentricity
Summary: A short oneshot about one of Roxas' first 'incidents' in Castle Oblivion with Larxene and how he meets Namine for the first time. Also, a semiplausible explanation for his peculiar temperment. ViolenceVery, very slight RoxasNamine


**Title:** A Learning Process

**Summary: **A short one-shot about one of Roxas' first experiences in Castle Oblivion with Larxene and how he meets Namine for the first time. Also, a semi-plausible explanation for his peculiar temperment. (Violence)

**Notes:** Honestly, this (piece) has nothing to do with anything. I just thought I should put something up before my account rots away into cyberspace. ;

**All characters copyright Square-Enix, and not me.**

* * *

"Let go of me, old woman!" 

He struggled violently in the blonde woman's arms, trying desperately to get away. She loosened her grip on his biceps and he broke free from her, but it was already too late. The door had slammed loudly behind them a few moments earlier, and now there was nowhere to run.

"Old woman!"

Her whole body shook in fury at the insolent boy's statement. Without warning, she slapped him across the cheek forcefully with the back of her gloved hand. His head was thrown sideways and the hood fell from his face. He fell backward a few steps from shock of the impact. When he finally looked back at her, it was with surprise that she had actually responded to the snide remark he had made.

"You think you're so tough, huh? Next time you say something like that," she slid small, dark metallic blades between several of her fingers, "You won't get a harmless little slap."

His eyes slid down her arm and fixed on the small kunai between her fingers, acknowledging that he understood perfectly what she had meant. She walked up to him and poked him in the chest with one finger as a warning.

"You're a disgrace to the Organization. Think you're all that, huh? Being his other half and all. I think it's about time you knew where your proper place was."

The corner of his mouth twitched as she delivered her condescending speech. As she turned around to make sure the door had been closed and locked, he tried to silently summon a Keyblade to his side. Seeing the perfect opportunity, he lunged at her, aiming to hit her square in the back.

There was a soft _chink_ behind her, and she paused and rolled her eyes. This kid would never learn, would he? Incensed, she turned around and caught his arm while it was still in midair.

"Like I said, kid. You think you're hot stuff, don't you? Got that pretty little Keyblade and everything. Too bad all you really are is a snotty,"

She turned her arm and his arm made a gruesome cracking sound.

"Bratty,"

Twisting it even further, another bone in his arm snapped. He clamped his eyes shut and grimaced, trying not to scream.

"Annoying,"

The Keyblade fell out of his hand, unable to grip anything any longer. It dematerialized before crashing to the white tiled floor.

"Little,"

Her hand covered his fist and she could feel the bones in his fingers crush under her palm as her grip tightened. The boy gasped in pain, and a smile crossed her face like she was having the best time of her life.

"Punk!"

She loosened the grip on his hand, and hurled him into a small white table at the back of the room. It gave way under his weight and the force of the throw, splintering down the middle and collapsing inward on the boy with a loud crash. At least a dozen crayons scattered in all directions, and pages from a book full of drawings floated to the ground like feathers.

Wiping her hands together like she had just completed a job well done, she stood up and sighed deeply.

"Naminé! Get out here!" she commanded to the empty air. The boy had not made a motion to get up from underneath the table, so she had assumed that he wasn't capable and therefore no longer a threat.

She snorted with disdain in regard to the boy. "Keyblade master, my ass," she commented to herself under her breath.

"Naminé!" Her severe irritation and impatience were evident in the way she systematically moved around the room smashing each crayon she saw with her heavy boots.

A small girl in a simple white dress peered out from behind an equally white chair that was sitting in the back of the room, and winced with the each sound of crunching wax. When Larxene and Roxas had come storming in earlier, she had hid, closed her eyes and put her fingers in her ears. It didn't block out all of the noise they had been making, but it was all that she could do. When she had dared to open her eyes and peek into the room, all she had seen was a cloaked figure fly across the room and then smash into her table, throwing all of her pictures into disarray. She tried her best to pretend that she wasn't there when Larxene called out her name. Naminé shrunk to the back of the chair as far as she could, pulling her knees all the way up to her chin and hugging them close to her chest. She involuntarily shivered slightly, and the chair gave a little scoot forward.

Larxene's eyes snapped to the spot, and saw familiar blonde hair and blue sandals peeking out from behind it.

"Ahah! There you are, sweetie."

Her grin turned predatory and the pet name she used for Naminé dripped with contempt. The girl shifted uncomfortably, trying not to acknowledge that she had heard her.

"You might as well come out. I can _see_ you. I'm going to need your help with this one."

She jerked a finger at the pile of rubble on top of Roxas. When the girl said nothing and hardly moved, Larxene sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Let's see…what could I do to persuade you to help me? Hmm….there's always torture."

No reply.

"Or, I'm sure that I could arrange to keep you locked up in this wretched castle for the rest of your sad existence."

The silence remained unbroken, and Larxene swore that if they hadn't needed Naminé for the rest of their scheming, she could have just killed that stupid little girl right there. Unfortunately, if she did that, it would eventually lead to her own demise as well. It was a good thing that she had let out some of her rage on that pathetic little boy; she was able to keep herself under control, at least for a little while.

"How about I just save myself the trouble and get rid of the brat under the table right now?"

Naminé relaxed her arms a bit from the tense position they had been in as she started to put all of the pieces together.

"Do you even realize what that would mean for your precious Sora, you stupid girl? Without Roxas, Sora is nothing! I wonder how he would ever put his memories back in order with half of his heart missing!"

She grinned maliciously when Naminé let out a small squeaking noise.

"What was that, dearie? Speak up!"

With her whole body trembling in part fear and part anger, she shakily made her way to her feet. Her long blonde hair was brushed over one shoulder, and her blue eyes filled with anxiety and a hint of rage.

"I said no! I won't let you do anything to Sora!" Her fists were shaking at her sides.

"What do you mean, you won't _let_ me? Like I need your permission to do anything around here. Either you plant some new memories in him, or you watch as I break every bone in his body before I kill him."

Bingo.

She had hit the right nerve by bringing up the Keyblade boy. She watched Naminé's confused eyes dart back and forth from the table to her. This girl obviously didn't know when to just stop caring about other people and focus on herself for a bit.

"But he doesn't have a hea-"

Larxene moved toward the table nonchalantly and dragged Roxas out by his broken arm. His breath hitched at the contact, and he swallowed a scream. To this, she merely raised an eyebrow.

"You're still conscious. Impressive. Which means-"

She let his arm fall limply to the hard floor, and he winced. He was still conscious, but barely so. Being thrown into the table had given him considerable trauma to the head, and he had been fighting to stay awake throughout their entire conversation. Just because he had a broken arm didn't mean that he wasn't going to try and fight. Using his other arm, he started to rise.

As soon as he had himself propped up, a boot was thrust into his face, slamming him back down into the tile floor. A warm trail red blood streamed from his nose down to his lips. He could feel a small amount of metallic-tasting blood well up in the front of his mouth and dribble slightly down his chin.

"Which _means_ you can still feel pain!"

She released her foot from his face briefly. He turned over on his side, sputtering blood and coughing, and she sighed lightly.

"Well, we can't have that happen again, now can we?" Her hands moved to rest on her hips as she rolled him over onto his back again.

Naminé stood there speechless, and turned away with her eyes closed and her arms in front of her face each time Larxene raised her foot. With each crack of breaking ribs, she clamped her eyes even further shut and whimpered softly.

Gathering up her nerve, she shouted "Please! Stop!" with her eyes still shut tightly, and her fists shaking at her sides even more violently.

"Please…" her legs gave way and she sank to the floor.

"…I…I don't want anyone to get hurt…because of me…"

Larxene moved back from the boy and regarded Naminé acerbically with a raised eyebrow as Roxas fell flat onto his face.

"A little late for that, isn't it?"

The most devastating thing to Naminé about what Larxene had said was that it was true. Because of her, Sora had already been hurt physically and emotionally. He probably hated her for it too. She had convinced herself that it wasn't her fault. She had been tricked into coming here, tricked into unchaining Sora's memories, and now she was being blackmailed into helping people that she didn't want to. She wished she could have been a stronger person, not only for herself, but for Sora as well. Naminé felt that if only she wasn't so easily swayed by the pain of others, if she only had a way to fight back…but she didn't. Not unless she wanted to start attacking people with crayons She was alone and weaponless, helpless, powerless.

"What….what do you want me to do?"

Her voice was so timid, and she wished it could be stronger. Stronger like Sora's. Even overconfident like the Replica would at least be an improvement.

"I told you that already. Give him new memories. Reconstruct him and his personality from the bottom up."

She started to walk down the long blue carpet leading to the door.

"But-! But he, he doesn't have a hea-"

Stopping to turn around before exiting the room, she tossed Naminé a pointed look.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll find a way."

"…Wait!"

As she held out her hand in protest, the door clicked closed and she heard the sound of a key turn in the tumbler. She dejectedly returned her arm to her side. Now she was locked in this room with the half-conscious Nobody that Larxene had called 'Roxas'. As to what had provoked her sudden violence or why Roxas was so important to Sora, she hadn't quite grasped, but if Sora couldn't recover without Roxas…

Cautiously, she approached him and squatted down by his side.

"R…Roxas? Can you hear me?" His eyes were open, but she wasn't sure if he was still all there. He shifted his head slightly, and she took this as a yes.

"My name is Naminé. Are you okay?"

When silence followed, she shook his shoulder gently and repeated the question, just to make sure he was still alive.

"Are you okay?"

What a stupid question. He would have thought that one look at his bloodied face and strangely bent arm would have told her that he was definitely _not_ 'okay.' However, that was a little long for him to spit out at the moment. He only managed to get out two words and a small smile before falling comatose.

"Thanks, Naminé."

* * *

Haha, I don't even really remember when I actually wrote this...but it was a long time ago when I was still into speculating about Roxas' past, between birth and when we meet him in KH2. And, seeing as how this topic will be elaborated on in KH2:FM, I don't really feel the need to continue with any of his origin story (even though I had started on it). Instead, right now I'm working on finishing the first chapter of what I hope becomes an epic-ish story. ; I haven't decided where to cut the chapters, but right now, it's hovering at just above 10,000 words. 

So, even though this will most likely remain a one-shot, stay tuned for more fanfiction from me in the coming months

As always, R&R is appreciated but not required. :)


End file.
